Tragedy cuts short dream job

The death of Carterton hairdressing student Tegan Moyes comes only days after the 16-year-old started studying for her dream job.

Ms Moyes, a former Chanel College student, received head and spinal injuries after she was thrown from a car that rolled on the southern approach to the Opaki overbridge soon after 3pm on February 21. She was flown to Wellington Hospital, where she died of her injuries on Sunday.

The driver of the car was a young woman, also a Ucol Wairarapa student from Carterton, who received minor injuries in the crash.

Chanel College principal Grant Miles said Ms Moyes had been a student for a brief time at Chanel before she enrolled this year on the hairdressing course at Ucol Wairarapa.

"She was really elated to be there. It was her dream to be a hairdresser," he said.

He said Ms Moyes had gathered a loyal band of college friends, who were left reeling at her death.

Support and counselling had been offered to students in need.

"Tegan was bubbly and vibrant and she knew her own mind. She kept to herself but had a small circle of friends and was a supportive and loyal friend to that group."

Ucol Wairarapa campus manager Angela Hewitt said the tragic death of Ms Moyes, who was newly enrolled on a hairdressing course, had quickly reverberated throughout the small campus community.

"She had had her first week here and was enjoying it. We have a small family here and the campus has been affected in a number of ways."

Ms Hewitt said the older student involved in the crash had been on a different programme to Ms Moyes.

The death of Ms Moyes comes a week after 15-year-old Carterton schoolgirl Grace Diedrichs was killed when she was thrown from a car that collided with a passenger train at the Wiltons Rd level crossing.

A funeral service for Ms Moyes is to be held at the Richmond Chapel in Carterton at 11am on Thursday.